An unmanned aerial system (UAS) may include any number of unmanned remotely-controlled or autonomous aerial vehicles that may be used to conduct reconnaissance, deliver a payload, or perform other airborne operations. Such vehicles include large vehicles that are launched from and landed on runways. Other such vehicles include medium-sized vehicles adapted to be launched from a trailer-mounted or other vehicle-mounted launching device. Another type of such vehicle is a small UAS, or “SUAS,” which may include a small, lightweight aerial vehicle that may be “hand-launched” by a person throwing the UAS into the air. A small UAS provides an advantage in that it may be launched from locations or in situations where runways are not available and the launch site is not accessible to motor vehicles to deliver trailer-mounted or vehicle-mounted launching devices. For example, a small UAS may be transported to and launched from a small boat; from remote, rugged country; or from a rooftop.
Unfortunately, hand-launch of a UAS may not be a reliable way to launch a UAS. A threshold amount of strength and skill may be required to properly hand-launch a UAS. Moreover, even a skilled individual may fail to properly hand-launch an SUAS on a consistent basis. A single, improperly executed hand-launch may result in an aborted mission and damage to or loss of the UAS, damage to surrounding property, or injuries to personnel. Even when the person conducting the launch is skilled and exercises great care, the hand-launch may be disrupted by a distraction, a loss of footing, or any number of transient events that may undermine the launch.
Furthermore, although a UAS may be light enough in weight to be man-portable by one or more persons so that the UAS may be transported to a launch site that is not reachable by a vehicle, the UAS may be too bulky or too heavy to be hand-launched. Particularly in the case of a UAS that may be designed to operate at a high altitude, at high speed, to travel an extended range, or to carry a significant payload may simply be too large or too heavy to be hand-launched.
Existing UAS launch systems have a number of disadvantages. As previously mentioned, most launch systems are trailer-mounted or vehicle-mounted and, thus, may not be usable at many desired launch locations. In addition, large launch systems may require significant manpower to move, set up, operate, maintain, repair, and relocate with each use. Another disadvantage of large launch systems is that they may not be easily or quickly moved to account for changed conditions, such as advance of hostile forces or a change in prevailing wind. Such systems also may lack the ability to launch a UAS without being directly attended by an operator, which may subject the operator to danger or prevent launch of the UAS in the face of adverse conditions.
Finally, those of the catapult type are designed with an external rail and internal elastic/spring mechanism to translate the UAS to a launch position. The external rail can become subject to damage from normal transport and operations and exposure to the environment. In addition, the design of internal elastic/spring mechanisms results in the requirement for a winching, cranking, or pulley mechanism to translate the carriage assembly under strain to a launch ready position. This significantly complicates the operation and manufacture of the launcher and creates a hazard during the translation of the carriage to the launch ready position in that the carriage cannot be locked until it is fully retracted.
It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of UAS launch systems to provide reliable systems and methods to launch a man-portable UAS to provide for easy and flexible deployment, repositioning, and launch of a UAS under adverse or changing conditions.